Display and dispensing rack



March 4, 19'41. E D GQODAFELLQW 2,233,61

DISPLAY AND DISPENSING RACK Filed May' 27, 1940 Patented Mar. 4, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,233,601 DISPLAY AND DISrENSING RACK Errol D. Goodfellow, Miami, Fla. Application May 27, 1940, Serial No. 337,521

7 Claims.

This invention relates to display and dispensing racks or cabinets, and itA has for its object to provide a'n improved article of this nature adapted to display and dispense printed matter, folders, circulars and the like in a way yielding important and novel results, as hereinafter set forth.

One of the important uses of the rack is to house, display and dispense railroad time tables and other travel circulars of this general nature. -It is well known that racks are maintained in most hotels, bus and railroad waiting rooms, etc., such racks comprising a plurality of compartments for the reception of Itime tables and travel circulars in general. One great annoyance to those who install and maintain these racks is that unauthorized persons insert their own advertising matter in these racks and thus reap the advantage without having contributed to the cost and maintenance of the racks.

Therefore, an important object oi the presen-t invention is to provide a rack having circularreceiving compartments suiiiciently accessible to the public to permit the removal of the front circular in any compartment but not so accessible as to permit the insertion of unauthorized' matter therein.

A further object of the invention is to provide a rack constructed to protect the circulars from dust` and dirt, to hold them in a neat and upright position, to provide storage space for additional circulars, pamphlets, folders and the like, and to incorporate all of these results in a structure which will be neat and ornamental in appearance and simple and economical in construction.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a partial front elevation oi a rack constructed in accordance with the invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view on line 2--2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view through one of the bins `and associated parts.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional View upon line 4 4 of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 5 is a sectio-n on line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Like numerals designate corresponding parts in all of the figures of the drawing.

The rack of the present invention comprises a frame having a rear wall 5, e-nd walls 6, (only one of which is shown) an overhanging box-like top I forming a compartment at the top of the frame and any suitable form of base 8. The compartment 'I is provided with a lid 9 that is hinged at I0.

A conventional key-controlled lock II serves to lock the lid in its closed position. 'I'his locking (Cl. S12- 62) of the lid serves the double function of closing the compartment l within which circulars, folders and the like may be stored` and of causing a rounded block I2 that is carried by the lid 9 to thrust a locking rod I3 downwardly against the tension of a spring I4. This spring surrounds a guide pin I5 which is guided in the top of the base 8. The locking rod carries a guide rib I6 which'is guided in a channel I'I, formed in the rear wall of the case or frame.A The locking rod carries a plurality of hook-like extensions I8, which are adapted, when the rod is moved to locking position, to engage over the rear walls I9 of one of thebins 2t in each of the horizontal rows of bins.

Each horizontal rowof bins is pivotally mounted at 2`I upon horizontal pivots which may be simple screws 22. Partitions 23 constitute the side walls for the respective bins, and panes of glass 24 constitute the front walls of the bins slots 2l of the thickened end members 24b of eachr horizontal row of bins.. A follow board 28 is mounted in each bin for movement toward the front wall of the bin. These boards are urged toward the front wal1,i. e., toward the glass panes 24 by spring 29 of relatively large diameter. These springs may be attached in any suitable way, as by mere stapling to the rear walls of the follow boards 28.

I may, if desired, provide rack b-ars such as are shown at 30 in Figs. 3 and 4. The function of these rack bars is to prevent rearward movement of the follow boards while permitting forward movement of the follow boards, and they are simple ratchet-like racks seated in shallow recesses 3I of the partitions and urged toward the follow boards by light springs 32. By thus preventing rearward movement of the follow boards unauthorized persons can not insert printed matter into the bins when the bins are in closed and locked position. This is due to the fact that as the printed matter is withdrawn piece by piece, the follow boards move forward, and since they can not be thrust rearwardly, no other matter can be inserted to take the place of that with-.

sible for iilling to a position where its interior is. accessble for lling, and wherein the front pece' of printed matter may be reached for withdrawalV over the front wall even when the compartmentjis c in the first-named position. While I havechosenv to show bins mounted for tilting' othergrneansuof movably mounting the bins may be resorted to while retaining the objectives above outlined;

Therefore, it is to be understood that the invention includes -within, its puiview whatever 4 changes fairly comeA within either the terms or the spirit of the appended claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim 1. In ay folder dispensing device of the char, acter described the combination with a frame comprising a pair of spaced vertical side walls, of a plurality of bins mounted therein, saidbins comprising bottom, front, side and rear walls, said bins being disposed in a plurality of super,- imposed rows and being pivotally mounted at the lower front portions of their bottoms for rocking into and out of the frame, means within each of said bins for yieldably thrusting a stack of folders toward the front wall of the bin, the side walls of the bin being of such height as to lie relatively close to the bottom of the bin next thereabove and the front wall of the bin terminating a material distance short of the top of the side walls of the bin to thereby permit the inspection and grasping of the foremost -folder and its easy withdrawal over the top of said front wall.

2. A structure as recited in claim 1 in combination with a common locking vrod adapted to engage all of said bins when they have been rocked into the frame as far as possibler to hold said bins against outward movement until the locking rod is released. y

3. A structure as recited in claim 1 in combination with a vertically movable locking rod disposed in the rear of said bins and carrying downwardly directed hooks adapted to engage over the rear walls of said bins to prevent outward rocking movement of said bins until said locking rod is elevated.

4. A structure as recited in claim 1 in combination with a vertically movable locking rod slidably mounted upon a rear wall of the frame, spring means tending to elevate said rod, hooks carried by the rod, adapted to engage over the rear walls of the bins, a storage. compartment at the top of theframe above the bins, a hinged cover for"'saidcompartment' and means carried ,by the cover and engaging the locking rod for holding the same in lowered position as long as the cover is closed. Y

5.,In a folder dispensing device of the character described-the combination with an open front frame comprising a base, a rear wall and spaced sidewalls, a plurality of rows of bins mounted in said frame, each of the `rows of bins comprising a common lbottom and a pluralityy o f walls Awhich constitute the side walls of the individual bins and partition the individual `bins from4 each other, the tops offsaid partition walls terminating relatively close to the bottom of` the. row of bins next, thereabove, va front wall for,v each bin which terminates a material vdistance belowthe tops of said partitions so that the A,foremost rone of a stack of foldersdisposedin a binmay be readily removed over 'the top of said fr ont wall, even while the bin isrin closed position, means for mounting the several rows of binsbetweeri` the side walls of the. frame and lat the lower for-- ward portion of the .rows-of binsA to thereby mount said rows of bins for' bodily tipping movement into and out of the frame. l

6. A structure asfrecited in claim 5 in. combination with a locking rod common to all-of the rows of bins and means carried by the locking rod adapted to engage said bins to holdthem against outward tipping.

7. Ak structure as recited in claim 5 in combination with a vertically movable locking rod slidably mounted upon the rear wall of the frame, sprin'gimeans tending to elevate the locking rod, hooks carried by the locking rod adapted to engage over the rear walls of the bins to Ahold said bins against outward tipping, a swingingly mounted lid and a member upon said lid disposed in position to engage the top of the locking rod and thrust it downwardly to locking position when the lid isA lowered.

ERRQL D. oooprfnnilow. 

